


Price of Eternity

by melodiouswanderer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Disturbing Content, Gore, Guro, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Regeneration, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, exprimenting, scifi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 11:09:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19973086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodiouswanderer/pseuds/melodiouswanderer
Summary: He never thought he was going to escape. All hope had been driven from him as he is reduced to nothing but a test subject. Fate, fortunately has other plans.





	Price of Eternity

**Author's Note:**

> This is more first guro fic so I hope you guys enjoy this and it’s turned out ok! This is set like during Season 5 of Voltron where Lotor rescues Throk.
> 
> I might continue this.
> 
> Enjoy lovelies.
> 
> Has not been beta read

Anyone who entered Haggar's lab and looked upon her latest works would think they had entered the lair of a serial killer.

Dark blood seemed to be splattered all over the floor. It gushes over the slab with the tools above currently at rest and covered in a mix of wet and dried caked blood, some of it dripping down. The room was dimly lit with violet lights with the brighter lights above lowered in brightness.

At one time this room served as a place for surgeons, healers, mid wives and others who brought patients in to heal and to save.

Now it served as a prison. A torture chamber.

It smelled of wounds and death.

At least..he thinks it does. It's been so long that it didn't bother him like it once had. Nothing was like it used to be in all honesty. He had been someone powerful once. Someone with influence, ships, soldiers and status that few could obtain.

Perhaps if he had played his cards more carefully, had been smarter about how to proceed then he wouldn't be here.

Alas it was too late to really dwell on such things wasn't it? Especially since he was now incapable of it.

No one important to him knew his fate. No one looking for him, no one coming for him in the end. If there even was going to be an end for him.

The doors hiss as they open. The noise causes his ears to give a small twitch as footsteps approach him before bright light returns to plague his tired eyes. A hand gripped his chin to turn his head back and forth slowly as he was inspected. Then his lips are spread open to show his sharp fangs.

"Hmm. Subject isn't showing any signs of decay despite being in state of sever injury for five days."

The hands move to grip his arm where tubes of a strange green substance glows ominously as it's pumped into him. They feels the muscles, and slowly massages them up to his hand and fingers.

"No signs of necrosis in the fingers. A good sign. Quintessence experimental substance number 014 appears to be showing promise."

His vision starts to adjust to the light as he looked at the silhouette of the Druid who always came down here. The voice was a quiet, smooth female one that might have once been considered comforting. To him though it just was as deceptive as the calm before storms would hit.

"The legs are regenerating at a steady pace. Subject seems to have stopped reacting to the painful regrowth. May be a sign of nerve damage. Will have to run another test once his limbs have finished their regrowth and increase the dosage."

Ah right. He had forgotten his legs were gone. He raised his head and this time a small whimper escapes him.

"Scratch that. It appears subject can feel a little of the pain."

The bone could be seen slowly growing. Strings of bloody muscle were following it, building back up slowly with the akin taking slightly longer. There was a cracking sound as the femur starts to extend.

If this were like the first time this happened...well. He would definitely be screaming.

"All things seem to check out as fine. Will continue to monitor and report to Haggar to ensure there's no complications...yet."

The dark mask now turns to his direction. In a slow blink she was leaning over him with the four eyes of her mask glowing red, almost illuminating the small smirk hidden by the mask. Slowly she ran a finger down his cheek and gave a quiet little giggle before tilting her head.

"You are such a perfect test subject you know that, Throk? You've proven we can create the key to unstoppable soldiers with this new form of quintessence. I do wonder though what Emperor Lotor would even think knowing the traitor who wanted to usurp him was still alive with these new abilities? Ah but no matter. He's far too busy to waste his thoughts on such things. Besides if you continue to show promising results I might convince Haggar to simply chain you to the floor," She giggles again before she clears her throat and straightens up, "Ah but no matter. I'll be back to check on you and to feed you. Rest well~"

When the lights dimmed he looked up at the ceiling once more.

He wishes he could remember what it was like to sleep without remembering the first experiments...

...

_"What are you doing!? I told you all already! I don't know who it was! Please!"_

_He feels the bindings tightening on his hands and legs as he was surrounded by them. He attempts to struggle out of their grip as one of them has a tube of a strange substance at hand._

_"Please no more! I'll do anything! I-I'll never speak of treason against the emperor again! Just ple—AAAARGH!"_

_The tub is injected into one of his veins, soon followed by more being injected into the back of his neck, his collar bone, his side, hip, leg and ankle. He breathes heavily and then he spots_ her.

_They back away from the table to give her room as she walks up beside him, "...You're going to be useful to our Empire, Throk. You could even say you're going to redeem yourself this way...if you can survive the tests that is."_

_"Ptu!"_

_The entire room goes quiet as spit landed on the Witch's robes._

_As her gaze turns to him, he glares at her, "Any form of redemption you give leads to death. Just ask Prorok."_

_She raised a hand when it looked like her druids were going to jump him for daring to insult their leader. Instead Haggar just slowly offers a sinister smile promising him suffering beyond comprehension. Slowly she leans over him so her eyes peer directly into his as if to look into his soul._

_"Wait."_

_..._

He barely makes a quiet sound. Oh...spitting on the witch. That had been a bad move on his part hadn't it? Ah but he would be lying of he said he regretted it.

A soft creak comes from the spiral bone saw above him.

Ah...that had been a favorite. He wouldn't remember it being used so much if it hadn't.

...

_"Commencing first regeneration test. Begin."_

_The muzzle held firm around his face as the Druids stood over him, one of them gripping one of the tools hanging overhead. Throk breathed heavily, eyes wide as he watches them bringing it down. His legs shook, sweat drips down his face and forms on his palms as he feels fear clutching at his very core._

_The strange quintessence courses through him, warm yet thrumming as he looked at Haggar standing over him._

_His left hand was held down, the sleeve pulled up and showing markings where the saw would cut through: just below where his bones meet at his elbow._

_"Nmmm! Nmmmmmmm!" He shook his head frantically._

_"Hold still."_

_Her hands were cold as they grip his face and then force him to watch._

_"This is for the Empire. Consider yourself lucky you are worthy of this honor."_

_Throk screamed as the blood splatters right on to his face. He could feel the teeth piercing into the skin, sinking in to cut through the bone. The sound of it cracking fills his ears as his vision starts to lose focus._

_There's a sickening smack as the sawed off piece_ _his arm hits the puddle of blood on the floor. Shock, horror, and agony caused_ _his mind to go blank. The bloody stump starts to tremble_

_"...Is it working, High Priestess?"_

_"Wait for it."_

_"Ghmmm...Ghmmm..." there is a moment where nothing happens._

_Cr-r-r-rkrkrkrkr—_

_"MMMMGHHHHH!?"_

_His eyes roll back as the pain resumes. The Druids whisper around him excitedly, Haggar humming softly as she goes to look at it_

_The last thing he sees before succumbing to darkness why Haggar's sickeningly gleeful grin and he heads the Druids chattering to each other like children in a playground discovering a new critter that does an interesting trick._

_..._

He lightly moved his fingers on his arm. The first limb to be cut off and to regenerate.

There used to be some scar tissue from where it had been cut the last few times to ensure that this experimental quintessence was always working. Something to use on future soldiers so they would never be destroyed, would keep coming back fresher and newer for more battle.

He wonders...he wonders if Lotor was even aware of this happening. Even if he had sent him to the Ulippa System and possibly raided his base...He wouldn't be this cruel. The Prince had never been unnecessarily cruel in the past after all. Always quick, painless and practically merciful with his kills.

Maybe..maybe if he found out...he'd give him a merciful kill too.

Yes...yes if anyone could do it, it was Lotor. He just...wanted it to end. He wanted to finally pass on and rest at the hands of someone he had wronged in the past It didn't matter if it was in battle anymore. It didn't matter if it was honorable or not. At this point it was an escape from this place.

That's all he wanted now.

...

_"Kill me..."_

_The Witch pauses. Her fingers at the marking paint hovering over his waist a moment before her eyes meet his a moment._

_Her expression was apathetic as she narrowed those yellow orbs, "Oh?"_

_"Please...please kill me...end it...please...I don't want to do this anymore..." He wheezed softly, shaking under her gaze, "Death is better than this..."_

_"...I do not owe you such an act of kindness," she hummed a moment, "I don't even think I could kill you considering how successful this entire experiment has been. Though...I do have a few more tests to perform and since you seem to think you can still demand favors of me, I think this next one will be a most fitting punishment."_

_Suddenly she pushed his head down, and he stared at her with his eyes growing wide when she marked a line over his neck. He would reach up and grip at her wrist if his arms weren't so weak from lack of use and constant regenerating..._

_"No...No no...!"_

_"Now now. Maybe you'll be lucky and this will finally kill you," she slowly reached up to grip the saw that had removed his arm the first time and as it turned on she lowered it_ _, "Let's see...will your body regrow from the head down, or will your body regenerate your head?"_

RRRRZZZZZZZZZZ!

_"NOOOOORRRGGKKRGLLLL!"_

_Blood erupts from his throat and fills his mouth. Throk is forced to gargle on it as his head is disconnected from his body from the saw, tears welling up on his eyes when he can hear his body start to slide down off the slab and disappear over the edge to become a crumpled heap on the floor._

_His mouth open and closes as he tries to process how he_ still quiznaking alive!?

_His ears start to ring from shock as he spaces out. He keeps his eyes on the ceiling as tears blur his vision, ignoring the pain slowly coming from the bones in his neck beginning the regeneration process._

_The Witch's grin came into view as she chuckles quietly, "Well then. It looks like that answers that question doesn't it?"_

_The saw is turned off before it's place back against the ceiling. Haggar then mockingly patted his head as he was still too shocked to react. His poor mind was still trying to make sense of everything now. Nothing...nothing made sense anymore._

_"I'll send someone to dispose of your body later. You rest now," her voice was sickeningly sweet as she then walked away, "It will be a while for your body to regrow itself."_

...

His body had remained in the room for three days before Macidus had come to dispose of it.

It had begun to stink up the place since it hadn't been bathed and whatever had been held in now released to fill the air. At that point Throk's spinal cord and upper ribs had begun to grow again, with the muscles along his shoulders still growing.

Now here he was with just his legs left.

He was told it had taken over a deca-pheob. Stars has it been that long since he came here?

Time was lost to him between experiments and visits. He couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten anything. What had he eaten anyways?

There's the sudden sound of footsteps approaching again. He doesn't even bother reacting when the doors open, knowing that whatever it was it would inevitably just end with him going through more tests. Or if it was Haggar then a fresh new kind of horror of some sort...

For the first time in a long one, an unfamiliar gloved hand gently cups his cheek and turns his face.

"..Throk?"

A face he never thought he would see comes into his vision. Long white hair gently brushes against his cheek as blue eyes look him over with a mix of conflicting emotions: Horror, rage, sadness, guilt...

"...Lo...tor..."

Were his eyes now playing tricks on him? Was this some illusion meant to fuck with his head and make him lose another shred of sanity?

"Stars...what have they been doing to you...?"

He wouldn't put it past Haggar to fuck with his mind in his current state. After so long of feeling constant pain he can barely feel the tubes being disconnected from his body. Arms slip under him and lift him from the slab as his head tilts back. He can hear a soft gasp coming from the doorway. The room was out of focus but he could make out a link silhouette in the doorway as his eyes start to droop.

_Ah...another wishful dream? Heh...I thought I stopped having those a long time ago..._

Still...it was better than thinking back on his nightmares for memories that plagued him as he nods off.

...

"Aaah, excuse me buuuut,...what the fuck is this?! And _who_ the fuck is _that!?"_

The Emperor of the Galra walked past the rather irate Blue Paladin, not even sparing him a glance. He just adjusted his grip on the galra and carried him towards the castle of lions.

The other paladins had quieter though varying reactions to seeing the strange galra with his legs appearing to be growing back slowly: Hunk gasped and covered his mouth, Pidge stared in a fusion of morbid fascination and alarm, Shiro kept his eyes averted but there was no missing the haunted expression on his face as he traced his prosthetic arm and Allura looked deeply concerned as she moves to face him while walking backwards.

"I can start up a healing pod for him if you—"

"No," Lotor catches himself before he can bare his fangs and quickly rights himself, "...No princess. Whatever the Witch was doing to him, I don't wish to risk the healing pods being contaminated with it nor have him put in an unnecessarily risky situation...If you don't mind, could you please set up one of the medical beds? I will take his recovery from here."

Allura blinked...then a look on understanding forms on her face, "Of course. Please the medical bay is at your disposal. If you should need assistance—"

Lotor didn't hear the last part of her sentence when he heard the crack of growing bones and the soft wet sound of regenerating muscle. He feels his stomach slightly churn, picking up the pace to get away from the paladins. It was too late to undo what they had just seen but he can at least spare them staring and giving Throk looks of pity.

It was one thing to be tortured by the Druids. He had assumed they would see he truly knew nothing and he'd get demoted or exiled at worse, just to see if this proud commander could someone build himself back up from there until they're swords met in battle once more. But...this...

This was beyond what Lotor expected. He always knew the Druids were depraved but...this was the work of monsters. Seeing someone once so proud, and bold turned into an almost complete stranger.

He never wanted this for the commander. Reduced to some testing animal like those lizards turned to those abominations called robeasts. The Emperor turns into the medical bay and carefully lays Throk down on one of the bed.

As he moved around to grab a scanner, he's stopped when he notices a glowing green substance seeping from where those quintessence lines had been injected into Throk's arm. It was mixed with blood and dripping out on to the mattress. Without hesitation, Lotor pulled out a swab and wiped the wounds clean before putting it in a jar to study it later. He then raised the scanner to begin seeing what this man needed.

...

What greets the Emperor when he exits the med. bay with his long hair pinned up and having the top part of her suit off to show him wearing a skin tight tank top underneath, was Shiro waiting for for him.

The Black Paladin stands before him, his eyes down and a shuffling his feet. He was gripping his prosthetic arm and lightly tracing over a seam anxiously.

"Yes?"

"...How do you know him?"

Lotor took in a slow breath before releasing a heavy sigh, "...He was one of my Father's commander's. We have a history you could say," He starts to walk past him while holding the vial between his fingers.

"Hmm. Were you two close?"

The Emperor freezes and if he hadn't managed to remember he needed to examine this, he may have crushed the vial. Shiro winced when Lotor turned his head to look at him with an audible crack and glares at him a moment.

"...A long time ago."

He started moving briskly away so he could focus on finding out what this quintessence was and how it was causing Throk to regenerate like this.

Anything to take focus on and distract him from the emotions swelling up inside him.

...

When he opened his eyes, they are met with dim blue lighting and for once he felt wonderfully numb where his limbs were growing. His mind was slightly foggy like he'd been given powerful painkillers and he felt...refreshed. Cleaned.

There's a large blanket enveloping him as he was now lying on his side and when he looks down he sees his clothes had been changed. The bloodstained purple was replaced by comforting, cleaned blue pajamas. He blinked slowly a moment and slowly started to push himself up.

His spine ached in protest causing him to hiss in pain and lower himself back down.

Well he can confirm that this was not a dream. At least he hoped it wasn't.

Still he shouldn't be surprised if this was the work of his mind breaking completely and giving him a false sense of safety before more pain came. Worse case this was another form of torture from Haggar.

"It's not the witch."

Throk froze up when he finally sees the figure sitting before him. It took a moment for his eyes to focus.

The blue light gives the white hair an almost ethereal look as those blue eyes look at him. They were half lidded, making them hard to ready but there was a small softness in them.

"...It wasn't an illusion?" His voice was a wheeze.

His vocal chords were still hoarse from lack of use for so long, despite having fully regenerates. The Prin—

No. The Emperor was dressed in simpler wear. His hair was in a loose braid, and he wore a large grey shirt and black tights. His hands are clasped on his lap.

"No Throk. None of this is an illusion."

The galra stares at him a moment before he grimaced, "Yet I still live."

"I see no benefit from killing you Throk...I don't even think I could kill you if I tried," Lotor huffs softly, "Wharever she's done to you, could very well mean you've become something of an immortal so to speak."

Throk sighed, not noticing how Lotor's brow furrows at his lack of a snappish response, "...I should be. I should have died in the arena when you had the chance..."

"Tch. That doesn't sound like the Throk I knew."

"What are you trying to do Lotor?"

The sudden look of surprise on the half-galra's face would have had him smirking a long time ago. Instead he just has this blank look on his sharp face.

"...I want to help you."

The sincerity in that statement causes Throk to be taken aback as he blinks in surprise. He opened and closed his mouth a moment, trying to process what he's just been told.

Lotor continued, "...I never meant for it to go that far...I didn't...I didn't know you'd be reduced to this...I thought...I thought when they found you had no information to give they would..they would just let you go..I had no idea..."

"Of course not. You got off with a slap on the wrist compared to the rest of us...ah but i wouldn't expect you to understand the depths of that woman's depravity."

"That doesn't mean..." Lotor then took a moment to reign in his temper before he buries his face in his hands, "...I don't want to do this right now. I don't..I don't want to play this game of who has it worse off again...can't..." He looks at him with a weak glare, "Can't you just let me help you? Just this once you stubborn son of a yupper? I don't...I don't want to fight anymore."

Throk stared at him a moment. He has never see Lotor like this before. He...he seemed vulnerable. More so than their time before their falling out so long ago. Throk closed his mouth and then took in a deep breath before closing his eyes a moment.

"...You really came for me...didn't you?"

Their eyes meet a moment. Before he realizes it he feels a hand beside one of his. It doesn't try to hold his hand but instead he feels a pinky lightly stroke over his fingers.

"Yes...You star smelted fool."


End file.
